I loved this house and the Otago Harbour views ...
Note: The harbour view was taken down on the road at the bottom of the street ... not from veranda.
I used to live here ...
Back home, I discovered Broad Bay, Dunedin and I lived in 3 houses in that small bay before flying to Istanbul ...
The small one, down by the water, was where I moved to after my first marriage ended, and it was perfect for a while. Then the house just above the first house ... on the hill and hidden in the trees ... came up for rent and it was more sensible, less quirky but still wooden, with a verandah and a view of the harbour.
I loved living in Broad Bay. I had a sea kayak, a car, and a golden labrador. And just enough money for secondhand books and the occasional bottle of red.
I hunted those old houses down and photographed them while I was home in New Zealand at Christmas.
A Strange Kind of Beauty, France
I wouldn't normally seek out this kind of image and yet it called to me and voila, I find it beautiful even now.
The sea, the storm, the lines ... who knows.
But another shot from the coast of France.
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage ... and my bracelet.
Last weekend, Gert and I were wandering the wet streets of Le Touquet Paris Plage, about 200kms from Antwerp, playground of wealthy Parisians ... or so rumour goes.
He had booked us the Sunday night special in a rather marvellous hotel and it was really lovely. But the weekend ended up being about more than that. I have been searching, for a very long time, for a bracelet I could wear constantly, without it breaking and devastating me on a regular basis. As has been the story so far ...
We were strolling along the rain-soaked streets, looking in shop windows and amusing ourselves before dinner when I spotted a beautiful silver bracelet. I had to smile ... of course I was going to find a silver bracelet in the playground of wealthy Parisians. Not being one myself.
Gert called me back as I walked on, pointing to the signs that said '70% discount' and 'closing down sale'.
We knew it was impossible but we decided to wander in and ask anyway. There's something rather nice about bracelets when you're a photographer. Don't ask me why but I relate them to the whole practice of photography.
I tried it on, loved it, and asked how much. He pointed to the 70% discount sign and did the maths for me. I was stunned ... and delighted ... and feeling kind of guilty about picking up a beautiful silver bracelet at 70% off.
We walked out smiling, unable to believe how fortunate I had just been.
And the next day, before leaving, I saw this man on the beach and he seemed like a photograph.
That Beautiful Hat ...
My journey is the destination companion recently knitted her first hat. She is the creature who gave me much-needed permission to squander my money on that beautiful scarf pictured in the previous post.
I loved the colours she used and so I am currently negotiating my very own woollen hat. One with a Miss 8 designer label.
As for the origin of the concept, 'the journey is the destination' ... I stumbled across Dan Eldon's work back when I lived in New Zealand. His book has been traveling with me since. I had this idea it would inspire my English students in Istanbul however the syllabus was always quite tight in the private schools where I worked.
So he simply inspires me. As does Miss 8.
Winter continues ...
I cleared about 10cms of snow and ice from the sidewalk this morning ...
Winter continues but perhaps I am beginning to wake, to shake off this winter lethargy, inspired by the kindness of old friends and new. I've been living a hermit's life lately, curling up in the cave of this Antwerpen winter.
Midday found Diana and I chatting on skype, bringing each other up to speed and talking of winter and workshops. I find her writing inspirational and this blog post helped shine a little light in on the greyness here.
And the other day ... the day after the day of drama and sadness, Miss 8 convinced me about buying the beautiful Nepalese shawl you see pictured below. It's a little like wearing my own private version of the sun.
We discovered Nepal Handicrafts on Hoogstraat which is part of our 'pretty way home'. Miss 8 and I share a passion for finding the most beautiful ways to reach home ... the prettiest way to go anyplace really. The journey is our destination and we must, if possible, enjoy it.
We have an animal spelling game for the days that are bleak and the trams full. She starts with 'elephant', for example, and then I have to find an animal whose name begins with the last letter of her animal. More research is required as we're running out of animals known to us. It helps that we both have Dutch spelling too but the tram journey is oftentimes longer than our memory or knowledge.
I feel more posts are long overdue. Life goes on and the sadness that has filled me simply must go. It's time.
